TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Oct. 11, 2005) ? After resuming non-conference play in the middle of the week, the USF volleyball team (1-14, 0-6 BIG EAST) lost to Florida A&M, 3-0 (30-20, 30-26, 30-18), at the Gaither Gymnasium in Tallahassee, Fla. Tuesday night.

“The team did some really nice things tonight,” coach Claire Lessinger said. “We knew that in order to win we were going to have to force FAMU into a faster-tempo game. We didn't make them work very hard. I never felt we controlled the tempo and that hurt us.”

USF had one of its best offensive outings all season with a hitting percentage of .250, while posting 41 kills. Both the hitting percentage and kills were both the second highest total for the Bulls all year.

Although USF put together one of its better offensive showings of the season, FAMU's offense proved to be stronger and in the end out-hit USF, netting .417 in the match.

The Rattlers (7-4) also had the upper-hand defensively, registering 60 digs to the Bulls' 27, while chipping in 15.5 total blocks to USF's 11.5.

Kristina Fabris tallied her eighth-career double-double, putting together a 16-kill, 12-dig effort. Besides leading the team in kills and digs, the sophomore from Ontario, Canada, also paced the way in blocks with two block solos and four block assists.

Michelle Stalbaum also had a solid outing for the Bulls, netting a hitting percentage of .357 for the team high. The Gainesville, Fla., native also chipped in 13 kills for her 24th double-digit-kill match of her career.

“Michelle Stalbaum had a great night and I was pleased with her consistency and aggressiveness,” Lessinger said.

The Bulls resume BIG EAST action on Saturday when they welcome Georgetown to The Corral at 11 a.m. USF will pick up non-conference play on Sunday when it travels to face Jacksonville at 2 p.m.